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4.30.2011

Whew, this has been one busy week for me lovelies! I'm sorry I took a hiatus because the only time I was home I was sleeping, so there was no time for blogging. As busy as I was, I still missed you guys!!! I haven't even been able to keep up with my G reader, so while I didn't blog, you all sure did and I have 86+ new posts to get to!!

You guys, this week I added a 3rd gig to my already considerable work schedule. I babysat for one of the cutest kids ever, Sean, who I used to nanny for over four years ago. I watched him Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 7am-2pm, and Wednesday I did hair and makeup for a music video shoot for 12 hours. Let's just say that getting up at 5:30am for four days in a row killed me. I was in bed before 9pm each night, and still exhausted when I woke up. I am so thankful my weekday job starts in the afternoon, and I have my mornings to myself!

Things I learned this week:

~I really, really missed my hubby this week. We basically slept in the same bed, but didn't see each other at all for the most part. There has been some major cuddling and close proximity sitting today.

~SPF 30 covered by a full face of makeup will not protect your skin for 12 hours. My sun burn says hello.

~Wayfarer style sunglasses are so in right now; you would have though the music video was sponsored by Ray Ban or something. I wore them too ;)

~I really want a British Fascinator headband hat thingy.

~I love that Billy bought this shirt in black for me to wear on Saturday to rep my love for Georges St. Pierre on UFC 129 fight day, but I was never home when my apartment office was open so I didn't get to pick it up, and now can't wear it tomorrow!!

~Due to the crazy hours I worked, I haven't been able to work out. I got in a light arm workout on Monday, but nothing since them. I was so happy to have the afternoon off from my regular nanny job today, and took advantage of the beautiful weather and the sunlight to get in a 22 mile bike ride with Matt. It was my second time riding the cupcake, and the longest ride I have ever ridden, and it was great! It made me so happy to be out doing something athletic.

~I infected my computer with horrid viruses in a hot minute after clicking on a picture of a hairstyle from a Google image search I did for inspiration. Billy fixed it for me, but I couldn't believe how quickly you can ruin your computer just by doing a simple images search for innocent stuff!

And of course, your Friday Audrey quote, late but worth the wait!

"I have learnt how to live…how to be in the world and of the world, and not just to stand aside and watch."

4.25.2011

Hope you are all recovering nicely from your sugar comas, it's not pretty over here!

I don't know if you enjoy Mondays as much as I do, but you can make yours just a little brighter by linking up with Meg over at Life of Meg for Mingle Monday, a fantastic blog hop. It's the best way to start your week, trust me!

~RED with Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren was a fabulous movie, I definitely recommend!

~Jeriah and Ronda are lovely hosts, can't wait to visit them again next week for UFC 129

~Jeriah's shirt from Saturday night is one of the many reasons he is my good friend

"I'm with buttface"

~Chasing down the Nite Owls Cookies delivery driver, barefoot, with a box of someone else's cookies in my hand, is not very effective, but it did make me feel better about indulging in my own cookies later. It also taught me that though barefoot running has it merits {increased speed and efficiency!}, I don't think I will continue training that way.

~Spending Sunday eating everything tons of sugary sweets was delicious, but I'm gonna have to knock it off.

~Seeing my friends Micaela, Michelle, her hubby Tim, and adorable son Marco, even for just a few moments really made my Sunday. Thanks for stopping in to the salon and seeing me guys!

~I will be helping out with a music video for a band called AB & the Sea that my friends at Element 151 Films are creating this week. Not only will I be styling hair, I will also have a role as an extra. Not sure what that entails, but you know I will update after we shoot!

I went to my second Bikram yoga class today. I think the further away from the first class I got, the less excruciating it seemed to have been. Let me tell you, it was just as difficult, sweaty, and hot as I first deemed it.

With that said, I'm now looking into yoga studios in my area that offer Bikram classes. You know, in case in the future I start to think it was easier than I remembered, then I can take myself down a notch or two by attending a class. When I asked Billy if I was crazy to be looking into this, he said something along the lines of "No, all of the people at the top level of hotness do Bikram, and of course you want to get to that level and you see this yoga as your means". Thanks babe. I'm thinking of trying out all the studios in the area that offer Bikram, and just doing their introductory offers of 10-30 days for whatever price, then picking which one I like best after I exhaust my new students deals. I think that should get me through a couple of months of yoga for a lower price, right?

I HATE this pose, it hurts my elbows SO bad! When does this get easier?

Something else I am giving a second try {sort of} is a book! I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last month. It was really good, but I wasn't sure it was ever going to get good.

I had a hard time getting into the book, it took me 200 pages for the story to really start, but then I couldn't put it down. I am now reading the second book in the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and it's alright. I think Steig Larsen does a great job of setting up the storyline and giving background on characters and the storyline, it just takes a long time. I watched the Swedish version of Dragon Tattoo, and thought they did an incredible job of casting Salander. I'm looking forward to watching Fire once I finish the book. Because I'm a purist in that sense.

I am also reading The Time Traveler's Wife which I am loving, but because that's a borrowed book, while Girl who Played with Fire is from the library, and thus gets precedence in my limited leisure reading time. I also can't wait to watch Time Traveler's wife once I get around to finishing the book...

which comes after I read Deja Dead by Kathy Reich's, which the TV show Bones is based on, since that is ALSO from the library ;) Can you tell I just love the library?

I really like the show Bones. I watched all of the seasons to get caught up with the current one in a very short period of time, and I got my hubby totally hooked too! Although it wasn't that hard, as he is a HUGE David Boreanaz fan from back in the day when Buffy and Angel and Faith ruled his TV watching. Eliza Dushku is STILL one of his favorite TV/movie girlfriends.

4.20.2011

Easter is quickly approaching, so what are your Sunday plans? Do you dye eggs, cook and eat lots of mouth watering dishes, attend an Easter Sunday service, or something non-traditional?

Easter, and spring in general, always brings forth feelings of happiness and a love of bright cheery pastels. I love seeing Easter displays in stores, with the myriad sorbet colors, soft cottony textures, and the requisite bunny or two. Of course my sweet tooth loves the sugary jelly beans, chocolate peanut butter eggs, and any number of homemade goodies that will inevitably pop up around me. I am trying to be extra good this week with my food, so I can really enjoy Mama's {that's billy's mom} homemade brunch, and the sweets The Mommy {that's my mom} will pile on me.

I still have to work on Easter, thus the life of a hairstylist who is only available two days a week, so I will be eating all day around my work schedule. Don't judge me! I plan on making some strawberry cupcakes, possibly going on a hilly bike ride with Matt early Sunday, enjoying brunch with family, working at the salon, and then of course enjoying Easter dinner.

Here are some pretty pictures from weheartit to get you into a springy mood and ready for Easter weekend!

~Chava is healthy chocolate that tastes delicious and has 4x the amount of antioxidants of acai berries, more of the mood enhancing "love drug" than regular chocolate, and has a host of health benefits associated with eating it. I will be updating you all on that later ;)

~I am still very in love with my photo shoot of Nicole from Friday, it makes me happy anytime I see those pictures!

Sorry this is a sort of lame Monday post, I blame the sleepy state I have been in all day. Now to bed I go, I have a slight tickle in my throat and I don't want it to turn into a full blown cold, so sleep is in order for this girl!

4.16.2011

Hi lovelies! I am so stoked with how great the shoot with Nicole turned out! It's one thing seeing her 3-4 times a week in workout clothes and sweaty, or in a speedo and swim cap, but it's a completely different experience taking this naturally beautiful girl and turning her into a knock out!

For this shoot I wanted a a very pretty, understated and natural look with the hair and makeup, but with just a little more pizazz and panache {<-- love those words, yeah?} Nicole more than cooperated. She was hands down one of the easiest and most fun people to work with. Maybe it's because I love her so darn much already, but we just had the greatest time and I am so glad we did this project together!

I shot this series using my Olympus Pen camera without a flash in natural light on the high key scene setting. {read: easy mode without adjustments necessary} Two locations, six outfit changes and four hairstyles later, we had almost 200 photos. I edited about 50 of them {only very minor adjustments like fill light and saturation etc, nothing big editing wise because I only have Picasa to work with, no special software for me} and of those, these were my favorites. I wish I could just upload every shot I took, because I LOVED pretty much every single one. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

4.15.2011

Hey lovelies, happy Friday! It's in the 70s and gorgeous today {my favorite weather} I hope the weather where you are is treating you just as well!

I wrote a little post on my hair blog today, so I am just gonna give you your Friday Audrey quote and take off today, as Nicole should be arriving shortly to get started on hair and makeup for my little photo shoot this afternoon. Of course I will post any good pictures that come from that!

"I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people's minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing." — Audrey Hepburn

4.13.2011

Tri inside Tuesday, followed by 90 mins of Bikram yoga, and THEN a 6 mile leisurely bike ride. I burned over 2,500 calories. Ridiculous.

I also ate over 3,100 calories! We went to BJs Brewery for dinner which allowed me to, replenish, my lost sodium and burned calories. I completely enjoyed my splurge of fried artichoke hearts,

stuffed mushrooms,

and parmesan crusted chicken!

I skipped the pazookie

and enjoyed homemade whoopie pies at home.

Bikram was....interesting. I had put off trying one of these classes due to the 105 degree temperature, and the sweat. Oh gosh, the sweat! Y'all, I am a sweaty girl by nature. Whenever I run, cycle, walk up stairs, pretty much anything active, I sweat buckets, so getting me to do complicated stretching in a very hot room is asking for trouble. I had also imagined the temperature to be the kind of "can't breathe" heat, and it scared me because 90 degrees in California makes me a cranky pants, what would 105 do?

I was surprised, not pleasantly, but surprised nonetheless by the class. The instructor was this young Indian man who was built like a 12 year old boy and had the best accent. I kept hearing "keep your palms by your solar, by your solar", late into the class I realized he meant "shoulders". I did sweat buckets, and it was super hot, just not unbearable, and I made it through all 90 minutes without wanting to die or at least leave the room. I was able to touch my forehead to my knee, something unthinkable without the heat to loosen my stiff triathlon trained muscles. Best part? Bikram burns 630 calories per hour, so at 90 minutes I burned 945 calories. Insane. I bought 2 classes when I signed up, so I at least have to go back one more time. Not sure I would buy more after that, but it was definitely worth checking out!

Hope you are having a great hump day! Here's to two more days of freedom for me, and two till Friday for you!